What is discrimination?

Individuals or an organisation are discriminating against you if they treat you differently from everyone else because of something about you that they don’t respect. Discrimination can be a horrible and hurtful experience and, in many instances, it’s against the law. Get info on common reasons for discrimination, what the signs are and what you can do about it.

This can help if:

you’re being treated unfairly or threatened

you want to know about the common types of discrimination

you want to know what you can do if you’re being discriminated against.

What is discrimination?

Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and respectfully. When someone is being discriminated against, it means they’re being treated badly or unfairly based on a personal characteristic.

Common reasons that people are discriminated against:

their sex or gender

if they have any kind of disability

their race

their age

their sexual preferences.

Some examples of discrimination:

someone saying hurtful things or attacking you repeatedly

being made fun of

being excluded or left out

having a group of people gang up on you

being made to do hurtful or inappropriate things

being threatened

finding yourself having to defend who you are and what you believe against stereotypes and untrue claims.

It’s against the law to be discriminated against in these areas of public life: